Planning a trip?
Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Brothers Islands location page.
Overview
The smaller of the two El Ikhwa pinnacles, one kilometre south of Big Brother and barely 170 metres long. Sheer walls plunge past recreational limits into the blue; the north plateau bottoms out around 40 m and is the staging point for thresher and hammerhead encounters. Soft-coral overhangs on the south and west walls bloom in the current, with grey reef sharks patrolling the corners and oceanic whitetips circling the surface in autumn. Liveaboard-only, current-dependent, and routinely dived as a drift along one wall before a blue-water hang.
Briefing note
Liveaboard-only — no day boats. Brothers marine park is closed roughly December–February (dates vary year to year); confirm with operator. Park fees apply per dive day.
What you'll see
6 species curated- seasonalOceanic whitetip sharkPeak: Oct · Nov · Dec
- seasonalThresher sharkPeak: Oct · Nov · Dec · Jan · Feb
- seasonalScalloped hammerheadPeak: May · Jun · Jul · Aug
- year-roundGrey reef shark
- rareSilvertip shark
- year-roundNapoleon wrasse
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- medium confidenceOceanic whitetip shark
- Last confirmed
- Dec 2025
- Recent records
- 45 within 50 km
- Cluster months
- Oct, Nov, Dec
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- Wildbook (Sharkbook, Whale Shark, Manta Matcher) — Wild Me
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22–24 °C | 20–30 m | moderate |
| Feb | 21–23 °C | 20–30 m | moderate |
| Mar | 22–24 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
| Apr | 24–26 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
| May | 25–27 °C | 25–35 m | moderate |
| Jun | 27–29 °C | 25–35 m | strong |
| Jul | 28–30 °C | 25–35 m | strong |
| Aug | 28–30 °C | 25–35 m | strong |
| Sep | 27–29 °C | 25–35 m | strong |
| Oct | 26–28 °C | 25–35 m | moderate |
| Nov | 24–26 °C | 25–35 m | moderate |
| Dec | 23–25 °C | 20–30 m | moderate |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- SMB + long reel — Drift exits in open ocean — operators require a long-line SMB for blue-water pickup.
- Reef hook — Strong current on the corners; hooking in lets you hold the plateau edge to watch sharks without finning.
Next step
Book your trip to Brothers Islands
Hotels, liveaboards, dive operators, gear recommendations, and travel logistics for the whole region.
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